Key Takeaways
UPDATE (6/29 5 pm ET ) Updated story to include California labor and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta announcing her support for the tribal-backed sports betting measure.
Get ready, California. Because the great debate over sports betting and who should control it – tribal gaming entities or online operators – is just getting started.
Screenshots from two commercials regarding the constitutional amendment to legalize online sports betting in California. It s one of two sports betting measures that will go before voters there on Nov. 8, and more ads for and against both measures will continue to be released in the weeks ahead. (Image: Californians for Tribal Sovereignty and Safe Gaming (left)/Californians for Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support (right))California officials announced on Tuesday a proposed constitutional amendment to qualified for the November general election ballot. But tribal leaders who oppose the measure took aim at one of the companies backing it.
That was followed by ads released Wednesday morning by “Californians for Solutions to Homelessness and Mental Health Support,” which featured two smaller tribes endorsing the plan to allow online sports betting in the state.
Two constitutional amendments regarding sports betting are slated to appear on the November ballot in the Golden State. Besides the online measure, the other is backed by tribal interests and their supporters. It would allow it at retail sportsbooks located in tribal casinos and four state-licensed racetracks.
The ads appearing over the last two days come as groups for both measures plan to spend millions of dollars in what will likely be one of the costliest campaigns in California history.
DraftKings CEO Comments Targeted“Californians for Tribal Sovereignty and Safe Gaming” released a new commercial on Tuesday. The ad focuses on comments DraftKings CEO Jason Robins made during an investors’ conference earlier this month. The group, funded primarily by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, and the Pala Casino Spa Resort, says it’s “a broad coalition of Californians” working with tribal leaders to defeat the online sports betting measure.
The group chastises Robins for not talking to investors about the initiative helping fight homelessness in California. The proposed online sports betting measure calls for most of the tax revenue generated from online sports betting to fund solutions to help the unhoused and bolster mental health services.
It also calls out Robins for telling investors that California allows the industry to set up the tax rate. The proposed measure calls for a 10% tax rate. But it also calls for a $100 million fee for a license.
“They didn’t write it for the homeless,” the voice-over narrator said in the piece. “They wrote it for themselves.”
https://youtu.be/d7ggAut7kZU
Robins voice is not heard in the clip. But his comments appear to be taken from his presentation at the June 6 .
“The tax rate, everything is set in a very reasonable way, because you can actually write the whole piece of legislation on the ballot, which is nice,” Robins said.
Not All Tribes Oppose Online Measure“Californians for Solutions” did not waste much time responding. By early Wednesday morning, that group issued two ads with Jose “Moke” Simon, chairman of the Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians.
The Middletown Rancheria and the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians also issued statements of support for the online sports betting measure. That item would dedicate 15% of the tax revenue generated by the gaming activity to tribal economic development efforts. The remaining funds would go to California communities to help the unhoused and provide mental health services.
For too long, rural and economically disadvantaged Tribes like ours have struggled to provide for our people,” Big Valley Band Chairman Philip Gomez said in a statement. “This measure would provide us with economic opportunities to fortify our Tribe’s future for generations to come.”
The online measure also allows tribes to be involved. But while their licenses will cost just $10 million compared to the $100 million that an entity like DraftKings would pay, tribes will be limited in how they can brand their app.
